Here we go, the two month-long journey that is the NBA playoffs is set to begin. Lots of teams that we aren’t used to seeing dominate are near the top of the standings and there are a couple teams making their returns to the top spot and looking to get the job done this time around. We’ll break down everything you need to know in our 2024 NBA Western Conference Playoffs Preview.
The Main Players
The West was an extremely tough conference this year. The Oklahoma City Thunder, yes, the OKC Thunder, won the top seed. The Thunder, after years of tanking, finally saw the boom year that they had been waiting for and put all the right pieces together. They have an incredibly talented core but there is so much youth there that you have to wonder if they are going to be able to piece it all together.
After the Thunder came the reigning champs, the Denver Nuggets. Denver still has Nikola Jokic and when you have the best player in the National Basketball Association, you basically always have a chance to win the NBA Finals. The Nuggets stumbled at times this year, but they found their footing at the end and gave it a good shot for the top seed in the West, ultimately coming up just short.
The Timberwolves are another fun team to watch. The three-headed beast of Anthony Edwards, Karl Anthony-Towns and Rudy Goebert gave the TWolves one of their most successful seasons in recent memories. They were able to fight their ways into the third spot after falling from the 1-seed but are still in excellent position to advance in the first round, taking on a Suns team that has faltered all season.
The Dark Horse
The Mavericks are the 5-seed but man I wouldn’t want them in the opening round. They have won seven of their last 10 games and they were a fun team to watch down the final stretch. With guys like Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, there is no telling what they might be able to do in these playoffs. I think Dallas could have a sneaky first-round win over the LA Clippers who are always injury prone with an aging core.
The Biggest Question
Can Lebron James pull off a massive upset? This is the question we all want to know as the Lakers will face the Nuggets in round one who swept them in the Western Conference Finals a season ago. The Nuggets talked a whole lot of trash about Los Angeles en route to their series win and I must assume that James has forgotten none of it. If the Lakers do bow out early, we must assume that James will be keeping his options open this offseason and that his time as a Laker may be coming to an end.
Big Predictions
Ultimately, I don’t think that the Lakers make enough noise in the West to upset the Nuggets. I have Denver going back to yet another NBA Finals, but I like the Boston Celtics to deliver the win.